Ford, which is bringing to market numerous technologies in order to boost the fuel efficiency of its North American models, has shown a new version of its PowerShift DCT on a concept car at the North American Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan.

The concept itself breaks new ground too, for though it is a compact vehicle no larger than a Focus, it carries the badge of the group's most exclusive luxury brand, Lincoln, more commonly associated with luxury sedans, trucks, SUVs and fleet limousines.

By choosing to build the Lincoln C on the platform of the European Focus, Ford-group designers are seeking to prove that high-class and luxurious vehicles do not have to be large or less fuel efficient. Premium quality in a small package - as with iPods and miniature cameras -- is the modern solution, says executive director of design, Peter Horbury. Technology, in particular, can enable small models to be just as sophisticated as large designs - and of course they can be dramatically more fuel efficient.

The Lincoln C is expected to be capable of 43 US mpg (5.3 lit/100km) - an impressive figure for an American vehicle, achieved through the use of a downsized 1.6 liter EcoBoost (turbo direct injection engine), linked to a PowerShift dual clutch transmission.

EcoBoost is Ford's initiaative for new direct injection turbocharged engines of all sizes. The 1.6 liter unit in the  is a significant step forward for Ford in North America, providing a 10 percent economy gain over a conventional two-liter simply because of its smaller size and its turbo boosting; variable cam timing saves a further 5 percent, with Ford's new Assisted Direct Start shaving off an additional 3 percent.

Innovation is seen in the six-speed PowerShift transmission, too: thanks to the light weight of the C concept, the design can adopt dry clutches in place of the wet-clutch system of the production PowerShifts seen in Europe.

"A dry clutch is a real sweet spot for lighter vehicle applications like the Lincoln C concept," said Piero Aversa, manager, Ford Automatic Transmission Engineering. "It is perfectly matched to this vehicle and engine. PowerShift is more efficient, it saves weight, is more durable, more efficient and the unit is sealed for life, requiring no regular maintenance."

Weighing in at just 1250kg thanks to a number of weight reducing measures, the Lincoln C is a rare example of a virtuous circle at work: its low mass enables the lighter transmission - 14kg less than the standard US Focus four-speed planetary automatic - which then enables further weight saving. "The dry-clutch derivative eliminates the need for the pumps, hydraulic fluids, cooling lines and external coolers that wet clutch transmissions require," says Ford.

This new version of the PowerShift introduces some additional functionalities which, say Ford insiders, are likely to find their way into later production transmissions. Most notably, the dry-clutch unit incorporates neutral coast-down, where the clutches both disengage when the driver applies the brakes. This, says Ford, improves coasting downshifts and clutch robustness as well as reducing parasitic losses for increased fuel economy.

Clutch slip, under precise control, is used in order to provide a torsional damping effect and thus improve engine NVH at low revs and high loads; this in turn improves economy by making the lower rev ranges more useable. Two further systems provide a low-speed creep mode and a hill launch assist mode that balance brake pressure with engine torque to improve ease of driving and preserve clutch robustness.

The C's interior majors on next-generation connectivity, aiming to ease the transition from home or office to vehicle, and to centralize car-related information and functions on one side of the display, with passenger-related functions on the other. There is a notable absence of minor controls as most are operated through menu systems controlled by two cellphone-like five-way key clusters on the steering wheel. Set behind the steering wheel - in itself a novel piece of engineering as it has no center but is supported only by its lower quadrant - are the two bright-medal paddles to operate the sequential gearshifting system.

 

Lincoln C Concept
Vehicle type:	Four door compact luxury sedan
Engine:	1.6 liter gasoline turbo direct injection
Power:	180 hp
Torque:	245 Nm
Transmission:	Six-speed dry-clutch DCT
Vehicle weight:	1250 kg
Consumption:	5.3 lit/100 km (projected, highway)

Story Filed: 3/9/2009
By Tony Lewin, managing editor DCTfacts.com